Sorcery
Sorcery (魔術 Majutsu) is the main form of magic and one of the various uses for essentia in Wild Hunt. It has mainly been seen being used as a method for combat throughout the series, with multiple sub-disciplines and classifications for the many types of sorcery employed by sorcerers (魔術師 Majutsu-shi.) Overview Those who use sorcery are known as sorcerers; beings who fuse essentia with their core and body to create magical effects. While sorcery can and has often been used for combat and warfare, it is not necessarily used for violent means. In fact, many sorcerers can use their sorcery for a multitude of purposes, and for just as many reasons. Uses for sorcery can range from helping a sorcerer better understand the world they live in through observation and experimentation, to making an honest day's work out of profiting off of their inherent powers. And just as the uses for sorcery are varied, so too are its sorcerers; ranging from good to evil, rich to poor, smart to dumb, human to yokai, and everything in between. Even androids can make use of sorcery if the knowledge to do so is programmed into them. The usage of sorcery is not a recent event, as later on in the series, it's revealed sorcery has been used since time immemorial; back during the time of peace, when gods and their creations lived in harmony. Back then, sorcery was primarily used for creating and maintaining aspects of nature, and supporting the lives of the gods and their mortal creations. However, over time and with the birth of Yami and the devils, and after the mortals' exile from Heaven, humanity would turn to sorcery to aid them and their budding technology in surviving the harsh, unforgiving environment of planet Earth. Through the millennia, both humanity and yokai slowly developed sorcery from a peaceful means of self-preservation and enlightenment to a form of combat; largely in thanks to growing conflicts raging across the planet and competition for resources. Like the humans' technology, sorcery has become used both for supporting life and for killing it. With the cleansing of Yami near the series finale, it's implied sorcery will return to its strictly peaceful roots, as paina nd strife will no longer exist in the universe. To make use of this power, sorcerers seem to need to draw the ambient essentia around and within them into their "core" (which is defined as the mind and soul of a being.) Upon doing so, the sorcerer will need a good deal of willpower and mental fortitude to mold the essentia however they please. Once the essentia has had its nature altered to fit the needs and desires of the sorcerer, it will be expelled from the core and back into the outside world as sorcery; with its appearance, function and state of matter changing depending on how the sorcerer has formed the spell. Once released however, additional effort will be required of the sorcerer to keep the spells they manifest in line; lest they grow out of control or cease to exist. As the spell has been influenced by the sorcerer's being, it can be further influenced by the strength, stamina and resolve of its sorcerer. Therefore, the effectiveness of sorcery is directly linked to a sorcerer's mental and physical strength, as well as their determination and endurance. Those too weak in one field or those who lack adequate skill in all fields will find themselves unable to use sorcery; and those who can use sorcery may be unable to use it to its fullest potential. Inversely, sorcerers with immense intellects, powerful strength or even unflinching resolve can become fearsome and difficult opponents to face; with their spells ranging from weak and ineffective to mighty and intimidating, depending on the amount of effort they put into a spell. A key necessity to performing effective spells appear to be incantations. Normally, sorcerers must speak aloud the name of the spell they're about to perform before it can truly take on a physical form or manipulate the world around the sorcerer. It's explained that there is power in names, and this is no different for sorcery's spells. The act of calling upon a spell through incantation is known as evocation (喚起 Kanki.) A spell under normal circumstances will not appear until it is addressed by name; however, there are those with enough willpower and forcefulness where they can perform sorcery without the need of evocation. These are considered highly adept sorcerers, whose power and skill can inspire awe and terror onto others. And while all sentient life can perform sorcery, it appears there's a difference in skill and talent depending upon what form of life a sorcerer is. For yokai, who are entirely composed of essentia and therefore lack traditional DNA, sorcery is a relatively simple act to perform; with entire yokai societies running on sorcery alone, and thus making technology less important. On the other hand, humans, who have inherently diverse genes and are not made of essentia, lack the same ability the yokai have at learning and harnessing sorcery. While it is far from impossible for humanity to use sorcery, humans still struggle to use sorcery on the same level as the yokai. Furthermore, humans lack the ability to easily use multiple types of sorcery, due to how essentia interacts with human genes. As a result, humanity typically receives one specific form of sorcery per person, depending on their DNA makeup. Given humanity's lack of sorcery expertise, the passing on of spells and types of sorcery are also just as difficult for them; making the sharing of powers almost unheard of in human civilizations. Humanity makes up for its sorcery deficiency through the reliance of technology. With tools, humanity can rival the effects of sorcery as used by the yokai, or they can improve their physical features to allow themselves to use sorcery much more easily. Given essentia is a tireless resource which can be drawn upon repetitively, this too makes sorcery limitless in how many times it can be used. And so it's not uncommon to see sorcerers combat one another with spells until the other side drops from exhaustion, becomes incapacitated or dies. Sorcery Classifications As sorcery is a broad and diverse ability, it has become regulated and controlled through various political parties; mostly by the Three Chancellors. As such, there are types of sorcery that are allowed to be used whenever a sorcerer pleases, certain sorcery abilities that can only be used in select situations, and forms of sorcery that are outright banned for varying reasons, ranging from reliance on amartia, ethical problems or simply due to the threat of crime. Typically, sorcery can be evenly split between the legal, default form it takes on in everyday use, and the illegal "black arts." Black Arts The black arts (ブラックアーツ Burakkuātsu) are a collection of sorcery which are considered too inherently perverse, corrupt, criminal and destructive to ever be used, and are thus made illegal. They are social taboos which can lead to shunning, discrimination and other forms of social rejection from a sorcerer's peers. If used and alerted of, a sorcerer can find himself persecuted by the authorities and brought to justice for his crimes; and if not caught, he can be labeled as a wanted criminal with a bounty on his head, and thus be forced to flee for his life. However, not everyone holds a sorcerer of the black arts in contempt. Some may be tempted to use the black arts for personal gain, or because they were forced to do so for self-preservation or other necessary means. Therefore, while the usage of black arts is frowned upon for the most part, some may be more forgiving than others, if the circumstances deem it appropriate. Meanwhile, others may even admire or respect a sorcerer for boldly using the black arts, despite its negative associations. Some may even be indifferent to what classes of sorcery are used, depending on their political and ethical stances. List of Sorcery Categories *Charm Sorcery ("charms" objects with magical effects; making them magical items) *Command Sorcery (controls certain nearby materials) **'Gold Command' *Consumption Sorcery (consumes external sources for their essentia in order to use sorcery. Often limited to making use of the eaten material) **'Blood Consumption' **'Dark Consumption' *Possession Sorcery (allows one to inhabit the core of another being and assert influence upon them) *Resonance Sorcery (connects one's core with an elemental force of nature, allowing one to control that force and adopt its attributes) **'Air Resonance' **'Amartia Resonance' **'Darkness Resonance' **'Earth Resonance' **'Essentia Resonance' **'Flame Resonance' **'Ice Resonance' **'Life Resonance' **'Light Resonance' **'Lightning Resonance' **'Magma Resonance' **'Metal Resonance' **'Water Resonance' *Shapeshift Sorcery (grants the ability to change one's appearance and form) *Storage Sorcery (seals external objects and organisms into designated containers) *Will Sorcery (converts willpower into a tangible force) Site Navigation Category:Abilities Category:Sorcery Category:Wild Hunt